In Bangkok, Thailand, the government wanted to build a large highway through a village. In the path of the planned road was a Buddhist monastery, so they had to relocate the monastery and the 11 foot clay statue of Buddha – to another place. Using a crane, the workers moved the monastery in sections. When the workers transported the statue of Buddha to the new location and began to lower it into place, the clay on the statue started to crumble and fall off.
The people were afraid because this was a precious religious symbol to them, and they didn’t want it to be destroyed. The more the workers tried to place the statue, the more it fell apart until, eventually, all the clay was falling off. Suddenly, the workers stared in amazement because, as the clay fell away, something unexpected was revealed. The statue was pure gold underneath. Before the statue was moved, people thought it was worth about $50,000. Today, that golden Buddha is worth millions and, because of the story behind it, it is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year.
What’s the point of that story? I believe many of us are living as clay vessels when, in reality, we are pure gold inside. Our lives do not reflect who we truly are or what we can be.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” -Jeremiah 29:11

Maybe you can relate to the following story. I was walking into Wal-Mart (now, I know you all relate to that part, right?) When I saw this little boy getting onto one of those familiar machines (a truck that kids climb on and feed it quarters as the engine roars and it moves back and forth although, the little kids feel like they’re on their way in an imaginary land.) Many of you have fed those machines I’m sure. I did my time in Wal-mart, probably 20-30 minutes, when I came out I noticed this little boy was still riding in the truck, Mom said probably for the 20th time, this is the last quarter. As I smiled and walked off, I realized something about that little picture of life. There’s a lot of people today that feel like that little boy, and maybe feel like that Mom. They are riding along in life, spending all their time and their money, and their energy trying to get somewhere, but when the day is over they realize that they really haven’t gone anywhere. That’s how most people in our world live today, they’re working hard, they’re spending a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of effort, but they are not really making any real progress in life. They are not going anywhere. Our world is filled with people who are busy but not feeling effective or satisfied.

Listen to these statistics of American employees:

• 50% of all US workers feel overwhelmed by a growing number of job tasks and longer working hours.

•  88% of employees say they have a hard time juggling work and life

• 48% of workers aged 35-44 are satisfied with their jobs, down from nearly 61% in 1995.

•Older workers, aged 55-64, also express a low level of satisfaction.

     What about your life? What are you using your precious energy on? Are you actively pursuing the dreams and vision that God has placed within you?  If I were to ask you today, “Why do you exist?” How would you answer? Most people cannot tell you. They can’t explain their purpose in the world. They have no vision for their lives.

Do you have a sense of personal purpose? Do you know why you were born? Does your purpose give you a passion for living? Some might ask, “Do I really need to have a reason for my existence?” The Answer is Yes! Life is intended to have meaning, you were not born just for the fun of it. Life doesn’t have to be an aimless, repetitive exercise, because you were not designed to simply ride in a pretend truck going nowhere. You were meant to be going somewhere, to be headed toward a destination.
As a Christian, we understand that our ultimate goal is to go to heaven, right? But if that was all God wanted for us, if God’s grand design was for us just to be saved and make heaven our home, don’t you think God would have put in place an express delivery system? If becoming a Christian was all there was to this life, and there was no other purpose for your life other than becoming a Christian…. I think God would save us and take us to heaven as soon as you were saved. It doesn’t work that way does it?
The reason is because God has a plan for our whole lives…. God designed you to accomplish His will while you live on planet Earth…. Heaven is our ultimate goal, it will be worth whatever you have to endure while you’re here, but God has given to everyone of us divine plans, dreams, a vision for our life. You were born to be distinct…. God didn’t create you to blend in, but to stand out as special, as unique. There is no one in the whole world with your personality, your makeup, your gifts, your God given talents, your way of thinking, your abilities; there is no one who can do what God has specifically created you to do… it’s His plan for you.
There are over 7 billion people in the world, and not one of them has your fingerprints. Some people may consider you to be “just another person”, but they are wrong. Don’t ever allow anyone to cause you to think of yourself as ordinary. When you go Antique shopping, what makes an item very, very expensive?  The value of something is determined by how rare it is. Gold is costly because it is difficult to find. In the same way with oil; it does not usually just spring up in your backyard, you normally have to dig deep to find it.

The truth is God created you as a one of a kind, you were not mass produced, You were designer made.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11

As we often try to eat healthy and trim down at the start of a new year, it feels truly liberating at the end of the day. You have eaten right, exercised, and had your water for the day. If so, there is a feeling of accomplishment and a lack of guilt! If we apply that spiritually, the Devil has many Christians filling up on the junk of this world and claiming it is excusable under grace. He is convincing many that they should live like or close to the world to experience liberty. Really? Let’s be honest! Do you feel better when you have eaten wrong, been lazy, and are nearly dehydrated? NO! You feel bad, carry guilt, and it leads to problems. Spiritually, the more we submit to God, the greater the liberty. Christians are not free to sin, but rather free to draw closer and closer to Him. We are free to experience His blessings, spiritual health, lack of guilt, and a stronger wall against sin! James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” True freedom comes in giving Him your all. What do you need to give up to gain spiritual health and true liberation?

If you have been in any recent services, you have heard pastor speak about a tract and Gospel campaign called “50 Faithful.” He has been emphasizing the need for people to hear the Gospel or at least given the Gospel message in tract form. The “50 Faithful” slogan refers to the commitment of members to give out 50 Gospel tracts every month of the year.

Of course, this is not limited to 50 people. It would be great to have everyone commit. We have already had more than 50 people sign up. Just think, that’s at least 2,500 pieces of Gospel literature every month and 30,000 a year. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Don’t you believe God could use this effort to bring someone to salvation. It does take some effort, but it is well worth it.

Each month, there will be bundles of 50 assorted tracts available in the church foyer and office. Just pick one up and start giving, witnessing, and praying.

There is also another opportunity to order tracts (still free of charge) through the church website. Here, we can bundle tracts to your specific needs or desires. There are tracts for different people (Catholics, Native American, soldiers, Muslims, etc.), age groups (kids, teenagers, senior citizens), and even situations (grieving, sick, struggling, etc.). Simply go to lbcrichmond.com/tracts, make your selections and submit an order. Only the Lord knows what could happen from this effort.

The use of gospel tracts is an effective evangelistic tool. The reason, assuming the gospel tract contains a clear and biblical presentation of the gospel, is that a tract communicates the only power of God for salvation — the gospel (Romans 1:16).

While the gospel is primarily a spoken message (Romans 10:14-17), the gospel can also be communicated through written correspondence. Hence, the existence of God’s, infallible, inerrant, God-breathed Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-7). Therefore, the presentation of the gospel in written form is a valid and biblical means for communicating the gospel.  After all, the New Testament is the written form of the gospel as well.

Gospel tracts can go where the evangelist may not be able to go, and they can be tucked into a pocket to be read later. Maybe a person walks far enough away for no one to notice him reading it, or reads it later in the car, or later still in the comfort and privacy of his home. The Lord has used gospel tracts on countless occasions to bring lost souls to genuine repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sadly, many Christians, discount the effectiveness of gospel tracts. Some even malign their distribution. Perhaps they might want to consider if they are, in a sense, blaspheming God when they do so. Why? The reason is simple. As previously stated, gospel tracts contain the gospel.

In his efforts, nothing man contrives without the gospel to reach the lost will ever be as powerful a tool as anything that contains and communicates the gospel itself. Gospel tracts are powerful tools for furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“When preaching and private talk are not available, you need to have a tract ready….Get good striking tracts, or none at all. But a touching gospel tract may be the seed of eternal life. Therefore, do not go out without your tracts.”

~ Charles Spurgeon ~

As many of you know our son Justin graduated recently from the Richmond Police Academy and has now started his journey as a law enforcement officer. It was not until his graduation that I heard that the class motto for his training period was, “The Hard Way”. Granted we heard many stories in the twenty eight week process that exhibited the fact that this was a very difficult process.

God has made promises in His Word that should encourage us in our hard times of life.

To be with you.

   “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” — Joshua 1:9

My GPS makes me laugh! I feel like it almost has a personality of its own; that perhaps she is laughing silently. She says things like, “Turn around in 400 yards.” I immediately notice three opportunities to turn right ahead and I say to her,” Helloooo! How far is 400 yards? I’m not a track star!” She does not answer me aloud, but I think she is smiling. As I miss the correct right turn because I have misjudged the 400 yards, she says things like, “Please do a u-turn or turn left now, and go the other direction.” I am almost positive I hear her add words like “idiot” to the end of her instructions!

Ideas for Personal Bible Study  

         ( see bottom of article for online resources)

As we enter a new year, most of us are thinking about new things. The new year offers a fresh start in many areas of life including Bible study. Sometimes this personal area of life becomes routine or mechanical. Below are some ideas, in no particular order, that may help develop this part of your walk with God.

       These are words that come to mind around the start of each year. The New Year allows us to remember that we can set aside, change, regroup. In my lifetime, I have read numerous books on organizing and cleaning. Too bad reading the book does not make it happen! Magazines around this time of year always have articles about the best way to declutter and more. Have you ever thought about your heart being like a room. Perhaps we should and take a journey deep into that area.

 People crave for new things today, new phones, new cars, clothes, hairstyles, and even a new face using plastic surgery to get a new nose, new ear, new look, new body. Especially during New Year, we want to set new goals and new resolutions. Anything that is external, that is.